synopsis

review

A seredipitious Sunday morning presented – from the beginning – Les Misérables without all the music: a less complicated version perhaps. I think it was the 2012 version I tried to watch, but kept falling asleep. Sure enough, black and white, keep it simple, stupid!

I was quite surprised to learn that Victor Hugo had penned this novel, familiar with The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Because this was a black/white presentation, I knew the music would be absent and therefore, perhaps, more enjoyable and easier to follow. The fact that Charles Laughton was appearing sealed my commitment to watch as I have been a big fan of his from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mutiny On The Bounty.

While this surface of the plot remains singular, the subliminal plot is plural and I am just now realizing that the smoother of the two seemed less pronounced – perhaps, because it might have been easier? It’s hard to talk further without giving away the denouement. However, I will say that this movie definitely made an impression on me; for that it is remarkable.

synopsis

In the summer of 1983, in the north of Italy, Elio Perlman, (Timothée Chalamet) a 17-year-old American spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa lazily transcribing music and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). One day Oliver (Armie Hammer), a 24-year-old graduate student working on his doctorate arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Soon, Elio and Oliver discover a summer that will alter their lives forever. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by James Ivory, is based on the novel by André Aciman.

review

I don’t know where I got the idea that this movie was by Woody Allen, but based on my idea of what I thought this movie was about, I definitely had to see it.

Wow! My as-if life played out before me.

I did not have the advantage of understanding during my first relationship, as I was on vacation in Hawai’i, alone, and free to be me until the plane departed for home. My second relationship, I was used to make another boyfriend jealous. My third, lied to me leaving me behind to move to Hawai’i. The third broke my heart, I turned to drugs, learned to manipulate “love” from men with drugs, and today I am alone and hateful. So based on the moral of this movie, I wasted my life by turning off feelings.

Oh, but back to the movie. I would have liked to have now the time period of this movie. There was a hint to the eighties a la some of the music: Psychedelic Furs. If it was the eighties, this explained the clandestine expressions, otherwise, I was a bit confused, having previously believed homosexuality was more socially acceptable in european countries.

synopsis

Based on the unbelievable but true events, I, TONYA is a darkly comedic tale of American figure skater, Tonya Harding, and one of the most sensational scandals in sports history. Though Harding was the first American woman to complete a triple axel in competition, her legacy was forever defined by her association with an infamous, ill-conceived, and even more poorly executed attack on fellow Olympic competitor Nancy Kerrigan. Featuring an iconic turn by Margot Robbie as the fiery Harding, a mustachioed Sebastian Stan as her impetuous ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, a tour-de-force performance from Allison Janney as her acid-tongued mother, LaVona Golden, and an original screenplay by Steven Rogers, Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA is an absurd, irreverent, and piercing portrayal of Harding’s life and career in all of its unchecked––and checkered––glory.

review

OMG! After seeing this movie, how can anyone blame sweet Tonya for anything. I thought my life was bad! Tonya should have received a gold medal just for surviving that mess. Was not crazy about Margot Robbie’s performance, as much as I loved Allison Janney, and as good as Allison’s performance was, I think Paul Walter Hauser’s performance as Shawn was equally Oscar-worthy!

I could identify with Tonya’s banishment from U.S. Olympics; I had a similar experience on a job. We were both, technically, wrong and as I have recently learned from Les Misérables(1935), the law is absolute. I loved Tonya’s defiant attitude towards the biased judges….son’s of bitches! I had no idea this was supposed to be a comedic tale. There were times when I wanted to bust out laughing, but the line from Judge Judy, “The people are real” kept popping up in my head.

I was on Tonya’s side after watching this movie, but now that it is being touted as “darkly comedic,” once again, I have no idea what to believe.

synopsis

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES). After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, commissioning three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

synopsis

WONDER WHEEL Tells The Story Of Four Characters Whose Lives Intertwine Amid The Hustle And Bustle Of The Coney Island Amusement Park In The 1950s: Ginny (Kate Winslet), A Melancholy, Emotionally Volatile Former Actress Now Working As A Waitress In A Clam House; Humpty (Jim Belushi), Ginny’s Rough-Hewn Carousel Operator Husband; Mickey (Justin Timberlake), A Handsome Young Lifeguard Who Dreams Of Becoming A Playwright; And Carolina (Juno Temple), Humpty’s Long-Estranged Daughter, Who Is Now Hiding Out From Gangsters At Her Father’s Apartment.

review

For a story of four ordinaray characters whose lives intertwine, there was much drama that kept me entertained and awake from beginning to end. I’ll admit that I was drawn to see this movie because I had the idea that it involved a murder and I remember how much I had liked Match Point, the only other Woody Allen movie – aside from perhaps Cassandra Crossing, but whom’s plot escapes me at the moment – that I have really ever liked. The other thing that kept me glued to the screen was Justin Timberlake :*.

synopsis

In Disney/Pixar’s vibrant tale of family, fun and adventure, aspiring young musician named Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) embarks on an extraordinary journey to the magical land of his ancestors. There, the charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael Garcia Bernal) becomes an unexpected friend who helps Miguel uncover the mysteries behind his family’s stories and traditions.

review

I loved it! What a surprise! I cried the two times I’ve seen it. I think I must buy to watch many more times and even in Spanish, which will make me cry even more.

I am too cynical to buy into memories and would never go to visit a worm food at the cemetery. However, this movie exemplifies Dia de los Muertos and really brings home the idea that people live as long as they are rememberded…despite death. This shame made me cry for they pain I may have caused my grandmother due to a difference in ideas. The grandmother character was the epitome of the Mexican grandmother…con la chancla! 😀 😀 😀 …with the slipper!

Once again, Disney/Pixar are geniuses and have created a colorful, deeply meaningful movie that reaches all age audiences, in my opinion…from infant to centenarian!

synopsis

review

Again, I can’t remember the movie. I do remember being engaged and liking it by the end. Al Pacino plays a detective similar to Peter Falk’s Columbo, a character I like. I can’t remember any criticisms regarding the film. The last thing I will say, is that I am kind of hoping for a sequel, but nothing further.

review

I only rented this one for mom, a mystery lover and Agatha Christie fan; she didn’t care for it. 😀

I thought it was okay, minus the over-reach to be an English production. Don’t worry about me spoiling it because I don’t remember who the killer was. I did like the widowed wife character. The only actor I did recognize was Glenn Close and she her performance was only okay.

synopsis

Hidden Figures tells the incredible untold story of Katherine Jonson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) – brilliant African-American women working at NASA who served as the brains behind the launch into orbit of astronaut John Glenn, a stunning achievement that turned around the Space Race. The visionary trio crossed all gender and racial line and inspired generations.

review

I know I rented it and I can recall some of the scenes from this movie, but for the life of me I can’t remember how it ended. Then again, I already how it really ended. I really should do my reviews the same day as the moview viewing, if not the next day because I can’t remember shit unless it is remarkable and that’s probably why I can’t remember more.

What I remember is that the supervisor did get promoted to the computer processing thingy-department and that they did get Americans in space, after the Russians. I also remember hot Mr. Kevin Costner <3 and Sheldon Cooper, er Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory, who’s character I did not like more than Sheldon!

synopsis

GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN gives a rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children’s author A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne (Margot Robbie), and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family?

review

Being a Disney fan, I was destined to see this move and I was floored by the true story behind yet another Disney star.

My immediate recollections revolved around the father, who seemed very pleased when the world revolved around him. Selfish is the first word that comes to mind. And very dislikable, until he develops and interest in his son, sho ignites his creativity to pen Winnie-the-Pooh. The mother was just as selfish and returns for a performance as a mother that walls short in both substance and stamina. If I remember correctly, their selfishness bubbles over and everything turns out okay. Unbelievable and that’s probably why I can’t remember the canned ending.

Cuteness through the trees if you can stand the walk thorugh this hundered acre plot.